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DCTC reaching out to YouTube generation

The Denver Center Theater Company is reaching out to audiences with a new tool -- YouTube. Using the interactive functions of the ubiquitous video-hosting service, which allow people to click on elements within a video to go to a link such as another video, the DCTC has created a choose-your-own-adventure...

By Cory Casciato

September 17, 2009

Audio By Carbonatix

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The Denver Center Theater Company is reaching out to audiences with a new tool -- YouTube. Using the interactive functions of the ubiquitous video-hosting service, which allow people to click on elements within a video to go to a link such as another video, the DCTC has created a choose-your-own-adventure style advertisement for their upcoming program. A campy fortune teller deals out cards and users pick the ones that appeal most to them. Options include selecting director or actor, local or out of state. Then the fortune teller tells their fortune -- choosing a play they will, in theory, enjoy.

The idea is to reach out to new, younger audiences using a medium they are familiar with to introduce them to one they probably aren't: the theater. The campaign was created by company multimedia specialist Charlie Miller and company member Kathleen Brady, who plays the part of the fortune teller. Given that it was produced in house and is hosted for free, it should be cost effective regardless of the outcome. And whether you make it out to a play or not, it's worth looking at as an intriguing approach to utilizing YouTube's newer feature set -- and a good way to waste ten or fifteen minutes of your afternoon. To start your interactive theater fortune-telling you need only click this link -- or hit the jump, where the first video is embedded to get you started.

Cory Casciato is a Denver-based writer with a passion for the geeky, from old science fiction movies to brand-new video games.

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